Martial King’s Retired Life Chapter v223 Discussion

  • Thread starter Tod
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hello,

First things first: I like this novel. This novel is a good novel. I was not paid for this review. I was not coerced to write this review. I like this novel. Please read this novel and leave a review and support the translate thanks.

It's a lighthearted novel as expected and is nice to read while wasting time during long commutes. The main character is the most powerful character we have been introduced to so far in terms of fighting power and the story is a sol that follows his shenanigans as he attempts to stay low and live a comfortable life in the employment of a sort of policing force. Supporting characters have some sort of backstory to them most of the time and are exactly like what they seem like. Some people might call this 1D flat characters without personality but I think this fits rather well into this sort of light-hearted comedy. Some characters do die which is something that usually turns me away from reading a series, but the ones that do die don't have a lot of impact and I didn't really feel anything at their deaths so it's all good.

The setting: main character, Ming Feizhen, was raised while subject to various martial art techniques and that resulted in him becoming strong. Some things happen which we don't know the specifics about yet and now he wants to retire from the world of fighting and live a lazy life. He somehow joins Liu Shan Men, one of the three main policing forces in the country and is forced to go through troublesome things against his will. This is a story about those things.

I feel like there's 4 main characters so far;

  • The main character, Ming Feizhen, is overpowered and somewhat silly. He's impervious to nearly all status ailments - a poison that has a 100% fatality rate only made the affected areas swell on his body and there was no pain. He likes girls so you'll see a of scenes where he's thinking le*d things about the girls he encounters and heck even a girl-like boy (who may be a girl but is probably a boy). in essence, he's a sleazeball. He's also well versed in various martial arts and is capable enough to use them to their limits. Basically, the main character is a 14 year old self insert fantasy. So far there's no character growth but then again, its a comedy.
  • Tang Ye, one of the main character's squad buddies, a typical main character person - fights for honor or to regain his family's honor or to win against some opponent who defeated him in the past or maybe it was his family idk. He's strong and powers up like a main character in a typical battle shounen. Written like one too, doesn't have any dark sides to him and is pretty straight-laced. All he does is train and justice and train and justice and yeah.
  • Su Xiao, the trap type character. Written like a girl who's cross-dressing in order to be accepted without the prejudices that come with being a girl in a male dominated workplace. Pretty law-abiding, if a bit dull (in term of the novel's world's standards of intelligence). Haven't seen much of his backstory but the atmosphere surrounding him feels ripe for it, so you can expect a lot from him some time in the future. He gets touchy about being girl-like or underestimated. Since the main character *likes* girls, Su Xiao gets some comedic moments where Ming Feizhen is lusting after him...
  • Shen Yiren is the vice captain of Liu Shan Men, which in the past was pretty strong but is now a shadow of its former self. She wants to regain its former glory is a hard worker. Some circumstances surrounding her, which ties in the plot so far and has some character progression (if you call being tsun for the main then somewhat dere but with a lot of tsun still remaining character progression). The dynamic between her and the main character feels quite natural to me but to be honest I have no idea how boss-employee relationships are supposed to work. She works him hard, he lusts after her, that's how it goes.
There's a bunch of other characters, but they currently aren't as heavily explored as these four. In fact, the first girl we're introduced to, who is written to be the main heroine, appears briefly for the first few chapters then disappears. Perhaps she'll reappear later on but right now, I feel like these are the four main characters that drive the narrative.

So far none of the characters have shown any growth but I think they're fine being exactly as they were introduced - they're well defined enough to be unique and not bore (me) as plot happens.

The writing itself is very well done - the translator Lord Obsidian is has a very good grasp on how to write entertaining sequences and I feel like the flow of the story is paced quite naturally. For the most part, there are no lengthy expositions that are unrelated to whatever is currently happening. Sometimes I'll find a passage where the main character will get sidetracked and talk about a girl, but I suppose that's in line with his personality.

A great aspect about this novel are the rare moments when the main character shows his true power. Trumping interpersonal interactions and comedic moments, I feel like this novel (actually, the author I guess) may be very well suited to writing more dramatic action stories. The smattering of action scenes punctuate the various interactions between the characters so I'm almost never bored. But personally, the thing I find the most appealing about Martial King's Retired Life is the lightheartedness of it. If you happen to be down or in a dark place in your life or even just bored while stuffed in a train full of commuters, this is a great novel to read. It's not exactly a fluffy novel but it unwinds my stress and I feel like I am looking through its world through the eyes of Ming Feizhan, laughing where he's laughing and lusting where he's lusting. I suppose it may be because I am an easily influenced person because if I look at it objectively, there are certainly mistakes and areas which could be improved - harder and more detailed descriptions whether it be events or persons are severely lacking in my opinion.

All in all, if you're simply looking for a comedy where the main character is OP doing slice of life-like things, then this is one of the best novels to read.

2.23/2.23 very recommend
 
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